The report is 52 pages. And it is “one of the first times that this evaluation work has been carried out”, underlines Grégory Doucet. Eagerly awaited on the subject, the mayor (EELV) of Lyon had commissioned, in July 2022, an audit of the city’s video surveillance system, in place since 2001, to “evaluate this tool and formulate a doctrine of use for improve its use. “Security is everyone’s business, not just a party,” said the elected official. This study makes it possible to clarify things and establish the facts”.
For his security assistant, Mohamed Chihi, it was “necessary to know the effectiveness of the tools before implementing new ones”. The cost of such a device has been estimated at eleven million euros. In October 2021, after shooting at police in the La Duchère district, Gérald Darmanin felt that it was necessary to “get out of ideology and put cameras” in places where there is drug trafficking, criticism reiterated in September 2022 in Lyon. “The number is not everything,” insisted Grégory Doucet.
Especially since it “is not demonstrable that the cameras are dissuasive, in particular in the open sites, added Mohamed Chihi taking up the conclusions of the audit. But they help to intervene on the ground and to solve investigations”.
New governance to improve the quality of exchanges
After the recommendations of the General Inspectorate of Services, in charge of the report, the city of Lyon will establish “a new governance” in conjunction with the national police, the SDMIS and the Samu social and thus “define the objectives of video surveillance” , which had not been done before.
The establishment of this new governance will also serve to improve “the quality of exchanges between the city and the hierarchy of the national police”, pointed out by Evelyne Guachard-McQuiston, writer of the report. She advises “to rebuild a constructive dialogue with the security forces to consolidate a balanced use of the tool and to reestablish the authorities of exchanges with the police which have disappeared over the years at all stages of the process of assistance to the decision “.
600 new cameras by 2026
The audit also recommends the need “for a redeployment of poorly positioned cameras” and particularly underused, especially in the 5th arrondissement and the international city. The city of Lyon has a fleet of 571 fixed cameras and 12 nomads, distributed in all the arrondissements, except the 4th for a historical and political question. The mayor then announced “600 new cameras by 2026”, exclusively “nomads”, in order to be “more flexible and see if their effectiveness is proven”.
According to the audit, it is the districts of the Presqu’île and the Péri-Moncey sector, identified as “criminogenic”, which are the most watched by operators. “These places were the subject of 60% of judicial requisitions in 2022”, specifies the study.
“A very efficient system”
In conclusion, the Inspector General of Services notably underlined the “maturity of the Lyon system”, highlighting the number of cameras deployed per inhabitant. “We have one of the best systems in France in terms of density”, summarized Grégory Doucet in one sentence, welcoming “the work of setting up [son] predecessor”.
The city is in 2nd position, behind Nice, on this subject, even if it is in 4th place in number of cameras (1.08) per thousand inhabitants. Lyon is therefore “one of the best performers” in terms of its “operational coverage”. Thus, each operator supervises 20 cameras, where the agents of the Riviera capital have 104 in their charge. “According to a Danish study, the loss of efficiency in this area is 25,” added Evelyne Guachard-McQuiston.